Tinted Moisturizer for Spring

One of my favorite makeup staples as we head into spring is Scosh Mineral Sheer Tint SPF 20.

It’s a great multi-purpose product, perfect for warm days when you don‘t want to layer products or wear a traditional foundation. Light moisture is combined with a sheer, luminous tint and a gentle, pure mineral SPF 20 for sun protection.

You also get the anti-aging benefits of a super-potent, antioxidant cocktail to boost sun protection and fight free radical damage - green tea, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Your complexion is enhanced and protected at the same time with one lightweight formula.

Easy to use; just one pump in your palm or on a sponge, and apply over your face like a moisturizer. If your skin is dry, apply on top of your moisturizer. Follow with a light dusting of blush or bronzer.

Scosh Mineral Sheer Tint SPF 20 is a customer favorite and a Scosh best seller. Enjoy it for 25% OFF, thru the end of April ‘11, or while supplies last. $23, reg. $31.

Find more Scosh makeup and skincare products online at www.scoshskincare.com.

The Importance of Toner

An article in one of my trade mags reminded me of the importance of using this go-to product.

Toner's primary job is to restore your skin’s natural pH balance. The pH scale is measured from 0 to 14. 7 being neutral. The optimum pH level for skin is a slightly acidic 5.5, but varies with age. We should aim for a pH of between 4.5 - 6.0 to achieve a healthy skin mantle to resist and fight bacteria.

Each time you wash your face you are upsetting the natural pH balance. This is where toner comes in! Most cleansers have a pH value between 6.5 and 8.0, which can help minimize the oil on your skin, but also rob the skin of moisture. After cleansing, your skin's pH balance becomes too high and your skin has to work overtime to restore the balance. By using the right toner, your skin's pH level is immediately restored to its optimum range providing the perfect condition for your serums and moisturizers, helping them to work better not harder.

Aging skin - As we age, the skin’s pH becomes more and more neutral. The reduced acidity kills fewer bacteria, leaving the skin susceptible to bacterial growth and infections. The skin weakens as a result and begins developing problems.

The aging process of the skin causes biochemical changes in collagen and elastin, the connective tissues underlying the skin, which give the skin its firmness (collagen) and elasticity (elastin).

As the skin becomes less elastic, the underlying fatty tissue begins to disappear resulting in the skin beginning to sag. Our skin is less supple, and wrinkles begin to form. At this stage, our skin is more easily injured, heals more slowly and tends to dry out more quickly.

One of the major culprits that radically alter the pH of the skin, is soap. Commercially available soaps are highly alkaline (pH range 9-11) and raise the skin’s pH to be much more alkaline. In addition, because of its high alkalinity, soap dries out the skin!

Acne skin - The skin’s pH value is one of the major contributors to acne and other skin problems. Propionibacterium acnes is a bacteria found normally in all persons regardless of the presence or absence of acne.

In individuals prone to acne, it has been found that the growth of P. acnes bacteria is very much dependent on the pH value of the skin. Its growth is at its minimum with a skin pH of 5.5. A slight shift toward the alkaline pH and P. acnes can thrive.

Other benefits of using a toner include -
Removing dirt, impurities, dead skin cells and toxins
Removing excess sebum (oil) from the skin
Reducing excess oil secretion by creating an optimal pH level
Speed up cell turnover

Scosh Papaya Enzyme Toner is an alcohol-free, lightly hydrating formula with Papaya enzymes to exfoliate while stimulating extracts - cucumber, geranium and sage - refresh skin. This toner contains skin identical ingredients and antioxidants to help your skin retain its own natural moisture barrier. All skin types.

Check out the full line of skincare, makeup, treatments and makeup lessons at www.scoshskincare.com. 

Oxygen Facials, Truth or Myth?

I’ve often been asked what and if there are benefits with a topical oxygen facial. Can it really give the hyped "glow"? So, armed with some research and images of Michael Jackson's oxygen tank aside, I have this to report:

In medical use, hyperbaric oxygen therapy - HBOT, 100% gas oxygen under high pressure - is used to treat severely infected wounds, burns, carbon monoxide, or decompression sickness.

Oxygen Facials deliver a mixture of hyperbaric oxygen with a serum or moisturizer through an airbrush to ‘pump’ oxygen and moisturizer onto the skin.

Oxygen is a gas, and therefore cannot be mixed with product ingredients. We do not have proof that oxygen can exist in a bottled product or be put into a cream, keep it there, and then have it released when it hits your skin. And if creams did provide some extra oxygen to the skin, the effects would last only minutes at best.

As trendy as the oxygen facial may be, there is no hard evidence of its effectiveness, and academic experts are skeptical. Many doctors say that the oxygen facial's effectiveness has not yet been proven because of a lack of clinical study. Any plumping or swelling effect that you see might be mild inflammation caused by the blasts of compressed air. Or if done with a combination of moisturizing ingredients, the plumping could be a result of water binding ingredients.

Your skin needs a certain amount of oxygen to remain healthy. Having more oxygen than what is needed does not make your skin younger or healthier.

My friend and associate Laura Root - author, small aircraft pilot, L.E, CIDESCO - states:
"The so-called "Oxygen" facials sound as though they would be fantastic for the skin, until you begin a closer examination of what, exactly, transpires in the process. Whereas a hyperbaric chamber completely surrounds the body in a small, enclosed environment with 100% pressurized oxygen,so that there can be an effect on wound healing. In an open environment such as a skin care clinic, even 100% oxygen from a medical tank sprayed onto the skin will disburse into the ambient air, so that there truly cannot be any benefit to the skin. Any transient "glow" would be a result of a stimulating exfoliation or massage, which actually does bring more nutrients to the skin – from the inside via enhanced blood flow!"

That being said, I simply could not find the 'leap' from serious wound care to topical skin care. I believe human skin cannot usefully absorb oxygen sprayed on the epidermis, the outer layer of the skin, as it will not penetrate. If this was the case, you’d find me sitting under the oxygen nozzle on Southwest airlines right now!

Please visit www.scoshskincare.com for more information about Scosh Makeup, Skincare, Makeup Lessons, Facial Treatments and Specials.

Transform Dry Skin

A beautifully warm afternoon, a chilly night and a damp, rainy weekend. As desert temps fluctuate, indoor cooling/heating and the dry desert air equals dehydrated skin.

Dry skin accentuates fine lines and wrinkles, making it difficult to achieve a flawless makeup application. So, I have a few age-defying tricks up my sleeve as sort of a pre-emptive strike to help keep your skin looking absolutely radiant and healthy no matter what the weather forecast may bring:

· Hydrate from the inside out by drinking more water. Your weight divided by 2 is the minimum number of ounces you should have every day. Coffee or caffeinated drinks do not count. Green tea or decaf beverages do.
· Dry desert air is not our friend! Buy an inexpensive humidifier to use while you sleep. You will be surprised how it helps to keep your skin hydrated all day.
· Hot water dehydrates the skin. Avoid long, hot showers or baths and only use lukewarm water to cleanse your face. Oh, and NO shocking the skin with a cold water rinse. This has no benefit. Besides, it’s not 1945 and you aren’t Joan Crawford.
· Step away from the spinning, vibrating facial brushes and at-home microderm! Used too often, these aggressive cleansing techniques cause dryness, redness and broken capillaries. You should be able to gently, yet completely, cleanse your skin daily without a mechanical device. Try a light in-office peel like Papaya Enzyme Facial. Or an in-home Papaya Exfoliating Enzyme Scrub and Papaya Toner. Enzymes and hydrating lactic acid gently remove dead, dry skin cells and encourage cell turnover. Plus it smells like spring break - for a lot less moolah!
· We spend so much time taking care of the dry skin on our face we forget our lips. Dry, cracked lips are very aging. Pamper your lips with Vibran C Lip Tint in 2 new colors, Pomegranate and Pink Grapefruit. They give a hint of color and are packed with Vitamins C and E. Plus the SPF 15 protects your lips from the drying, aging effects of the sun!

As a final note, don’t forget to cleanse twice a day and wear your sunscreen everyday! Using a hydrating serum and moisturizer full of water binding ingredients, hydrators and great anti-agers like peptides is still an integral part of your skincare routine.

Check out the full line of makeup and skincare at www.scoshskincare.com. Sale items online thru April 2011, or while supplies last.